"Read Your Labels" Campaign Gets Consumers Looking at What's in Everyday Grocery Store Products

WASHINGTON, Feb. 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Citizens for Health, one of the nation's most respected consumer action groups, has launched "Read Your Labels," a campaign to create awareness about many questionable ingredients and chemicals found in hundreds of grocery store products. As part of its ongoing efforts to promote better health and nutrition, the non-profit organization is encouraging every consumer to read the ingredients labels on the food products and beverages they buy.

Through the FoodIdentityTheft.com website and blog, the "Read Your Labels" campaign offers information about the "Top 10 Ingredients to Avoid," a list of some of the most controversial sweeteners, preservatives, and chemical additives. Information will be provided about each of the ten ingredients, including what they contain, what they're used for, and most importantly, why they should be avoided.

Powered by Citizens for Health, FoodIdentityTheft.com is also launching a "Read Your Labels" social photography campaign that asks consumers to take photographs of food packages and ingredients labels when they find these industrial ingredients in grocery store products.

Using the free social photography app Instagram, shoppers can snap photos on their iPhones, or Androids of packages and bottles that contain 'to be avoided' ingredients, and post them to their Instagram account using the hashtag #readyourlabels. The photos will then be shared on Facebook, Twitter, and on the Food Identity Theft website.

Instagram can be easily downloaded to an iPhone or Android from the Apple App Store (for iPhones) and on Google Play (for Androids).

"I think consumers will be surprised to see just how many everyday supermarket products there are that contain things like monosodium glutamate, aspartame, and High Fructose Corn Syrup," said Jim Turner, who chairs Citizens for Health. "No one needs these ingredients in their diets, and this campaign will help families avoid them."

About Citizens for Health
Funded by concerned consumers, non-profit partners, food growers, and businesses, Citizens for Health is a non-profit organization that provides over 130,000 supporters with consumer news, action alerts, and ways to demand access to healthy food, non-toxic products, and truthful, non-misleading health information. More information is available at www.citizens.org.

SOURCE Citizens for Health